NASA announced Wednesday that a planned spacewalk outside the International Space Station has been postponed due to a “medical concern” with a crew member in the orbiting complex.
The tour was scheduled to begin on Thursday morning. Astronauts Mike Finke and Jenna Cardman planned to stay outside the space station for six and a half hours to prepare for the installation of newly rolled-out solar arrays coming later this year. The arrival of the new solar arrays will be the last major upgrade to the laboratory’s power system before the space station’s shutdown in 2030.
confidentiality paramount
NASA said the crew member’s medical concerns surfaced Wednesday afternoon and officials would reschedule the spacewalk.
“Due to medical confidentiality, it is not appropriate for NASA to share further information about the crew member,” the agency said in a statement. “The situation is stable. NASA will share additional details, including a new date for the upcoming spacewalk, at a later date.”
This was supposed to be the first of two spacewalks this month. On the second excursion the following week, the astronauts were expected to complete a series of maintenance tasks outside the station.
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